Does anybody have any good circuit training routines using a weight vest and not encompassing any plyometrics or running?

I will soon hit the big 6-0 (got the knee tendonitis/no acl and back surgeries to prove it) and am looking for a good controlled circuit training routine for overall body strength and conditioning.

I currently like to wear a vest while doing the cross trainer...and it helps with light calisthenics and stretching too. Would like to mix this with my stationary bike work/rowing/cross trainer aerobics.

Thanks
Mike

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"There's the way it ought to be..... then there's the way it is" ~ Barnes

Stairs. Slow, single-at-a-time. Working into two-at-a-time as you get stronger and more flexible. SLOW good form is better. Half the battle is finding a good place to do a few floors, and have it to yourself. I've been loading a small pack with water bottles, but I like the weighted vest idea.

I'm just getting into this experiment (working out with a weight vest on) and am tinkering with a few ideas. Why do this??? because I don't have to do as many reps!!! plus I like the feel of some of the stretching aspects that the added weight puts on the body.

Thinking about incorporating some of the following exercises in a routine:

1. TRX squat
2. TRX row (or combo with squat)
3. TRX curls
4. Standing alternate toe touch
5. Standing 'Wood Choppers'
6. Dumb bell squat/curl/overhead press
7. Pushups (modified or with single arm row)
8. Plank?
9. Atlas Stone 'Air Ball' (Made this up....basically lifting a large exercise ball like the strong men competitors do lifting those atlas stones and adding a slight over the shoulder type twist to alternating sides upon standing). This gets me in a really low squat lifting position and feels good all the way through.
10. Lunges either straight away or combo'd with curls or overhead press.

Repeat a couple of times with the exercises of your choice.

Everything done with good form of course and relatively slowly. Spent a lifetime doing all sorts of training for sports/strength/etc....now am focused on making my body feel good and finding out that adding a weight vest while going through some basic body movements does that.

One could make this pretty challenging.

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"There's the way it ought to be..... then there's the way it is" ~ Barnes

Ok...I've pretty much gone 'full potato' here as I've added 5lb ankle weights with the 20lb weight vest routine. That adds a degree of difficulty and some new exercises. If there are wrist weights...I'll probably play with that at some point.

I like to take each section and do 'giant sets' in various combinations before moving on to the next section....so there can be a lot of reps depending how I feel. I'll combine some of the calisthenics/stretching where I see fit. There is no stopping (only a short break here or there to catch your breath/water). All movements are deliberate and done at a controlled modest pace. The idea is for core strength/flexibility/strength development that elevates the heart rate.

5. Standing Alternate toe touch 10x (I like these, good hamstring/obilque stretch...be careful!)
6. Standing ‘woodchoppers’ 10x (arch back on return, stretch hips)
7. Side bends/trunk rotation
8. Standing hand walk to push up plank position 10x (throw a push or two in there, then ‘Up dog’ stretch at the end of each set)
9. Divebomber pushups 10-15x (multiple sets) all the way up! followed by kneeling stretch at set's end
10. Opposite leg/ arm straight hold from kneeling position (for back and trunk strength)

I’ve been reversing the order of exercises the last couple of workouts because I wanted to make sure that my core and leg work got properly warmed up before I hit the large movements.

Started with shoulder circles, front/side bends, and ab work and specific leg work (ab/adductions, leg extensions/curls like the trainers have you do when recovering from leg injuries). Anywhere from 15 to 25 reps each. Took about 20 minutes before moving on to upper body stuff…. morphing into squats/pushups/calisthenics/TRX. Took about 50 minutes total workout time.

I find that doing leg curls with the ankle weights (25 reps x 2) while lying flat on the floor really gets to the small of the back for those of you with back issues. Also made sure that I do some back exercises (opposite leg/arm extensions from floor) before I get into the larger 'gross' movements (dive bomber pushups etc.)

I took the stairs idea and expanded on that by starting with single step walkup/down, then climbing every 2 steps (like a bench step up). Gotta be careful backing down. Also used the stairs (albeit with my feet only one step up) to do some decline shoulder presses.

Since your entire body is weighted (ankles, vest, wrist/arms) ANY movement requires effort….the object is to keep moving throughout. (If your legs need a rest after squats, then stand and do arm circles or lateral arm raises or some form of ballistic stretching)

I’ve been refining the sequence of exercises so that it flows from standing to floor work and back up again. If it works for you, or if portions work for you, great.

Remember I'm older now, have had multiple knee injuries, have an L3-L4 fusion with rods attached, have a history of a really bad neck injury with arthritis setting in amongst a litany of other assorted boo-boo's acquired through the years. I really don't want a barbell across my back anymore, or to sit in some static gym machine.

I wanted to develop a program for myself that combined strength, flexibility, core balance and conditioning that was low impact yet overall very challenging. If you find any of this helpful....great!

A few insights however….

1. When doing the STAIRS portion of the workout (8 steps up, 8 steps down in my basement , I vary the number of step ups from 1 to 2. I have to really concentrate on the ‘negative’ when backing down the stairs. My ACL’less knee is less stable then the dominant one, so I really have to concentrate on lowering myself and have that knee take the stress. Be careful…hold the railing…don’t want to fall down the stairs backwards attached to 50lbs of weights. That would be bad

2. I added a new wrinkle by incorporating a ‘rope climb’ into the workout. Basically took a kids climbing rope that I had laying around, attached it to the clip of the TRX (attached to an overhead beam in my basement), and while laying on my back, starting pulling up to the standing position. Used a decline bench as well as an alternate device for more stability. The bench gave me some more control and I varied the progression.

3. My knee’s been really sore the last couple of days because of the weather/tendonitis. I was able to do this workout anyway and eliminated the squat/leg extension/stairs portion of the routine and did more upper body stuff.

4. I need to find a better wrist/forearm weight system as I don’t currently see any that are made on the open market and I’m just improvising with what I have using ankle weights.

5. Been performing the ‘Warm up Section’ (20 min) of this work out before stepping on the cross trainer (25 min) on my aerobic days again, fully potato’d up with ankle/forearm/weight vest on.

6. I use the large rubber ball for other exercises too besides the ‘Atlas Lift’. I back stretch EVERYDAY on it, (many days multiple times). You can do dumbbell flys on it too, or rotational exercises for your spine.

SECTION I & II take about 20 minutes. SECTION III & IV takes about 25-35 minutes. (Yesterdays workout went 60 minutes). In the future I might just boil it down to a 25-30 min workout doing mostly the big (squats/pushups) movements to max. I like to end by taking everything off and maxing pushups.

Depending on how I feel, I usually combine sections. i.e. If my upper body needs rest from the pushups, I’ll immediately go to the stairs or take a stretching exercise or something from SECTION I.

The important thing is to keep moving and have fun.....don't stop!! (a little water break here and there or to catch your breath is OK). Find what works best for you and what you need to work on based on your current physical condition, history of injuries, and how hard you want to push yourself.

Here are some of the exercises that I’ve been incorporating into the workout. Not all are used in a given workout. Add/delete as you see fit.

So just for shits and giggles....I added my SCUBA weight belt to the mix midway through the workout yesterday.

Ramped up the intensity on Squats and TRX stuff...pushups got tougher too with the added weight around the hips.

I like the feeling of the weight on the hips while squatting....less pressure on my back and kind of balances things out. Been using the exercise ball wedged into a corner for some of the squats....gives support and control when you're 'bottoming out'. (Exercise ball is great for doing 'flys' or biceps curls or combo/over head press too).

Bear crawls around the house, up and down stairs get your heart pumping.

Woman at a pool party I attended last Saturday said I looked 'jacked'. (Of course I did a little mini 'small potato' workout before I went).

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"There's the way it ought to be..... then there's the way it is" ~ Barnes

Added a few new wrinkles to the exercise program. I’m always trying to find ways of combining movements so I can get more done in less time. Still I’ll look to put in a good 45-55 minutes. If I don’t have a lot of time, a 25 minute work out combining the ‘big exercises’ works.

Here’s my latest:

1. I took a Lat bar (one we made in high school! that I still had laying around), and attached it over head with a rope. While standing, the bar hangs just below the solar plexus. This allows me to get into a deep squat with my arms fully extended overhead. I then use it like the TRX system, but it gives me more stability and adds some different exercise variations. I use the bar to combine ‘row/squat pullups’ or ‘curl/row (palms up)/squat chin ups’ in various combinations. Most times I look to pre exhaust my legs before combining that with the ‘squat/pullups’ or ‘curl/row/squat chin ups’. I’ll do a ‘giant set’ like that with the vest on, then put the SCUBA belt on to do 2 or 3 more sets. This becomes the meat and potatoes of the workout.

2. Exercise Ball: Since I have some knee issues, when fully kitted up, I take a light bar, put it across my back (no weights, just for stability, you could use a broom stick) and go thru a squat sequence (ball is wedged in a corner). While ‘bottoming out’ the ball compresses and helps take the pressure off the knees, at the finish point (standing) I press my legs back into the ball looking to contract my quads and entire leg muscles.

3. I’ll also do a set or two of squats holding the exercise ball out in front of me while getting my rear end to touch the 2nd step on my basement stairs. Gets the heart pumping.

4. Exercise ball flutter kicks. I’ll lay on my back with the (inflatable) exercise ball (on the ground) above my head against a wall, and press into it while doing weighted flutter kicks so that you’re getting ‘isometrics’ and some upper body/core work while doing the exercise.

5. Modified push ups: After maxing out on regular ones (12-20 depending how I feel), I immediately finish with modified ones. From the knees do a push up, then finish by pressing back into a yoga ‘childs pose’ multiple times until toasted. I also use this (modified version) as a warm up to make sure my shoulder joints are lubricated and ready to go.

As we get older, it’s not the muscles that get weak as much as it is the connective tissue in our joints that gets inflamed, so you gotta be careful. That’s why proper warming up is so important.

The goal of this program is exercising to feel good and heal the body thru a variety of strengthening/flexibility/stamina controlled exercises. I’ve seen weight vest workouts with the more high speed cross fit athletes, but that’s just inviting injuries as far as I’m concerned. It's important to modify this program to your own specific needs.

On days whereby my knee hurts or my shoulder is sore, I’m still able to work around these 'oww-ies' and still get a great workout in. When you're weighted down, even stretching takes effort!

Have fun

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"There's the way it ought to be..... then there's the way it is" ~ Barnes

Okay, looking back to when I started this thread, I've been doing this workout for about 6 months now, at least 3x per week, sometimes M-W-F-Sun. I'll do some modified versions depending on how I feel. I started incorporating some exercise band work, helps with flexibility and working any kinks out of shoulders. etc.

Things I've noticed....more overall strength/stamina (makes sense), body weight went up approx 4-5 lbs (wasn't expecting that, I know it's winter but...cloths still fit good). My body weight for years has hovered around 216 or so, now I'm 219-222. When I'm fully kitted up with all the vests and scuba belt and step on the scale.....it reads 305.

Reps have increased. I'm not as dog tired as I was when I first started this, although it takes some time to recover after a hard workout. (Wife says I'm snoring at night). Some days I can push harder then others. Sometimes I need to take 2 days off.

I've attached my basic FP workout template for your perusal....and a pic of my home 'gym'....lol. (I do my warmup and floor work in the carpeted next room).